Ethel Wupperman

Hello Villager People.  Thank you for bearing with me during my health scare.  I’m back!   Being a contributing writer for the Villager allows for some privileges.  Like, the wonderful afternoon I spent last weekend.  It all started at the intersection of 14 and 44. I was sitting at the...

Mantua - How did it happen? This life-time resident of Portage County was clueless. She hopes that rest of the county isn’t. But just in case…did you know that three wonderful trails merge in Mantua? The trails are Buckeye Trail, Headwaters Trail and the Cuyahoga River Trail. The Buckeye Trail,...

Have you ever wanted to just sit and chat over coffee or tea, but the place with the Mermaid isn’t really your thing? Besides, that place only has locations in cities of a certain population, and rural Portage and Trumbull Counties don’t have many of those. Well, residents of Newton...

Newton Falls - “Take your passion and make it happen.” We Older-Than-Millennials remember that as a line from a song popular in the 80s, What a Feeling from Flash Dance. This line comes to mind when one meets Ron Stoner, who is opening a stained-glass studio, The Glass Act....

Newton Falls - If you drove past the Newton Falls McDonald’s recently, you noticed that something was up. While the drive-thru remained open, the dining room was closed. For quite a while. Well, on Saturday November 19, the dining room officially reopened. New owner John Perdue was on hand to...

Newton Falls - The weather has changed, likely for the duration. The leaves have fallen. The skies have become gray and every day is a bit shorter. Yep, welcome to late autumn in Ohio, where we are on a crash course with winter. We know it is coming, we...

Have you ever wanted to go back in time? Well, Heritage Accord is giving you that chance. As you may know, Heritage Accord is working to restore the Newton Falls Community Center. There have been many fundraising functions for this purpose. This past year has seen the community and...

Don’t you just love it when a day comes together, unexpectedly perfect? This reporter does! It was Thursday, September 15, when Ethel was asked to cover a luau. Being a reporter can be fun…being invited to a luau, and potentially getting paid for it, sign me up! Anyhow, after...

Portage County - The weather was picture perfect. The signs were up. Luau, with an arrow. One couldn’t help but follow them to a nice shelter at the Streetsboro City Park. There you were lured in by the aroma of grilling meat. A photo booth…corn hole games set up…picnic...

Ravenna - Hey Ravenna, when does a Wednesday feel like a Saturday? When you attend Mongoose Motorsports and Portage Trim’s Octane Nights! It’s coming up soon, Wednesday August 3, so be sure to plan for it. For those readers who are in the Gear Head community, this event is a...

Ravenna - Good things continue to happen at Ravenna High School. Last week we saw the Day of Service, when all the students turned out to help the community in various ways. What a success it was! While checking out the students working downtown, this reporter noticed a QR...

It was a blustery spring Friday evening in Portage County.  This reporter had a bit of cabin fever, so decided to engage in a favorite hobby-going to catch a bit of Live Music.  Many venues have opened back up in this time of reduced covid numbers, so there were...

Ravenna - It was a typical Wednesday, and this reporter had errands to run.  Okay, it wasn’t too typical for North Eastern Ohio in March - it was a beautiful day!  Rather than driving to multiple locations, the price of gas combined with the weather to encourage me to...

Ravenna - A few months ago, this reporter wrote an article about the Haven of Portage County, and how it was progressing. At that time (November of ‘21) the building facility was still in the process of finalization.  Wiring was in place for the computer stations, but there were...

Perhaps you have a loved one in an area nursing home. Perhaps you love live music and frequent the many venues in the area, including some of the Open Mics. Perhaps you attend flea and farmers’ markets around Portage County. If any of the above fits you, then you...

It was the coldest day of the new year, 15 degrees with a real-feel of 1 degree.  Yet, there was a crowd, bundled in their coats and hats, on the corner of West Main Street and South Park Way.  Posing, talking, taking pictures.  What would bring so many people...

Ravenna - Date night at the library? Really? Sounds rather boring! Well, maybe not. If your library has been transformed into a miniature golf course and serves delicious appetizers and wine, sounds like a fun date! Saturday, November 20, Reed Memorial Library did just that. It was Date Night,...

How many have passed the building, not knowing it is there? Even GPS lets you know “you have arrived” but, you seem to be in the middle of Route 44. However, look for the Portage Music sign, on the east side of Route 44, just north of the Route...

Festivals are a wonderful part of life here in Portage County.  They bring people together, strengthen community ties, boost the local economy, and are downright fun. There is Art On Main, the Ox Roast in Mantua, Garrettsville Summerfest, numerous festivals in Kent, not to mention the Portage County Fair....

For those of Portage County who do celebrate Christmas, how do you welcome in the Christmas Season? For many, it is putting up the tree and decorating the house. For others it is a day of frantic shopping to take advantage of the Black Friday sales. Still, there are...

This past Wednesday, Heritage Accord received quite the shot in the arm.  This came in the form of a check, for $10,000! This generous donation was given by the AMVETS.  The ceremony was held at high noon, at the Newton Falls Community Center. Connie Smith Talcott was on hand...

Newton Falls - How much history can you fit into one half-hour phone call?  If you are talking with Dr. Everard Smith of Wilmington, NC-consider it a challenge accepted!  Dr. Smith informally serves as historian and advisor, especially of the USO buildings, to Heritage Accord.  You may recall, Heritage...

Newton Falls - I must have driven by it a hundred times.  I’m not sure what it is. Have you ever caught yourself describing a business this way? That was on my mind when I got the call from a friend. “They are donating money for the Community Center. ...

Hello Everyone, I am Ethel Wupperman, you may have read some of my recent articles.  I am a woman on a mission, I hope to help give a boost to some of the area organizations that got hit hard from COVID 19 and the mitigation that occurred.  Although the list...

Portage county is made up of some towns, some cities and many rural communities.  It is unfortunate, but those citizens in the outlying communities may not have access to the same level of social services as those in the towns and cities.  This includes food.  Enter Rena and Jason...